An aerosol TOF MS of the present invention is based on the use of
quadrupole lenses with angular gradient of the electrostatic field. On
the entrance side, the TOF MS contains an ion-optic system that is used
for focusing, aligning, and time-modulating the ionized flow of particles
and a deflector modulator that provides alternating deflections of the
flow of particles between two positions for aligning the flow with two
inlet openings into the TOF MS. As a result, two independently analyzed
discrete flows of particles pass through the ion mass separation chamber
of the TOF MS without interference with each other. The charged particles
fly in direct and return paths along helical trajectories which extend
the length of the flight time. The time of the collision and the
magnitude of the collision pulse will contain information about the M/Z
ratio for the particles being registered. Multiplication of a single flow
of particles into a plurality of independent and spatially separated
flows propagating in one chamber increases efficiency of the TOF MS and
makes it possible to use it in continuous and high-duty applications with
the duty cycle as high as 98%, which is unattainable with any known
device of this class.